Journal of Youth and Adolescence https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01401-7 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Can White Guilt Motivate Action? The Role of Civic Beliefs Brandon D. Dull 1 ● Lindsay Till Hoyt 1 ● Patrick R. Grzanka 2 ● Katharine H. Zeiders 3 Received: 7 October 2020 / Accepted: 18 January 2021 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature 2021 Abstract Limited research has investigated factors that shape White youth’s civic action aimed at social change. Investigating the relation between Whiteness and civic action is an essential step toward identifying and cultivating environments that encourage White youth to use their racial privilege to combat inequality through civic engagement. To address this gap in the literature, across two distinct samples, this study investigates the role of White guilt in motivating civic action and the moderating role of civic beliefs. Participants included all young adults who self-identified as White from two online survey studies (Study 1, N = 219 college students, 71.9% Women, 28.1% Men, mean age = 19.6; Study 2, N = 185, 50% current college students, 54.6% Women, 45.4% Men, mean age = 23.9). In Study 1, White guilt related to more civic action. In the context of high social responsibility, White guilt related to more civic action; in the context of low social responsibility, White guilt corresponded with less civic action. In Study 2, White guilt also related to more civic action, and civic efficacy emerged as a potential moderator. Collectively, these results highlight the potential for White guilt to be turned into meaningful civic action, particularly when coupled with civic beliefs. Keywords Civic engagement ● White guilt ● White racial identity ● Civic beliefs ● Social justice Introduction A persistent, even vexing question among academic researchers and political activists alike is the extent to which perceiving injustice motivates members of a majority or dominant social group to take action against injustice. Extensive research has documented how youth of color regularly take civic action to combat inequality, often motivated by the injustices they experience (Heberle et al. 2020). In the context of racial privilege, however, the mechanism by which White youth take civic action to promote social change is not clear. Understanding what motivates White youth to challenge inequality is increas- ingly crucial as movements such as Black Lives Matter amplify the impacts of systemic racism and the margin- alization of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States. One potential pathway to civic action for White youth is White guilt—an emotion experienced by White people regarding behaviors or attitudes related to racism as well as historical or present-day racial injustice (Grzanka et al. 2020). Some research has suggested that guilt can motivate civic action and commitments to social justice (Stewart et al. 2010). Other research suggested White guilt may only predict efforts aimed at compensation, such as support for affirmative action (Iyer et al. 2003). Nonetheless, since White guilt is a normative response in White identity development (Helms 1990; 1995), it is important to illuminate factors that encourage White youth to move beyond feelings of guilt to states of antiracist action. Civic beliefs, such as social responsibility (i.e., one’s commitment to make contributions to their community or society) or civic efficacy (i.e., one’s perceived capacity to enact change through taking civic action) may play an integral role in shaping White youth’s civic action in the context of White guilt (Schmid 2012; Manganelli et al. 2014). Across two distinct samples, the current study examines how civic beliefs influenced the relation between White guilt and civic action to elucidate opportunities for racially privileged youth to contribute to social change. * Brandon D. Dull bdull@fordham.edu 1 Department of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 E Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458, USA 2 Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA 3 Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA 1234567890();,: 1234567890();,: